Western Allies

The Western Allies was the alliance of Western Allied Powers states that existed from 1941 to 1945 during World War II. The distinction between the Western Allies and the Soviet-led Allies developed after the USSR entered the war on the side of the Allied Powers in 1941; while the Soviet-led eastern Allies consisted of communist nations and resistance groups, the Western Allies consisted of the democratic/capitalist states led by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The Western Allies and the Soviet-led Allies in the east would have an uneasy relationship, particularly concerning issues such as the postwar government of Poland (whether it would be a democratic or communist state) and the occupation of Germany. In 1945, the Western Allies would come to occupy the western half of Germany after Nazi Germany's surrender, while the Soviets would occupy the eastern half. In 1949, the Western Allies spearheaded the creation of NATO, which superseded the Western Allies as the military alliance representing the democratic states of Western Europe and the Western world as a whole.